Obama talks climate change, the beauty of nature in Yosemite speech
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
President Obama spoke of environmental concerns and remedies in his Saturday speech to a small crowd of invited guests at Yosemite National Park.
"Climate change is no longer a threat; it is a reality," he said, touting conservation efforts of his administration. "As we look back over the last 100 years," Obama continued, referencing the National Park System's upcoming centennial anniversary, "there is plenty to celebrate about a national park system that is the envy of the world. But when we look to the next century, the next 100 years, the task of protecting our sacred spaces is even more important."
Obama also talked of Yosemite's natural beauty in glowing terms, enthusing, "You can’t view this on your iPad or a flat screen. You have to breathe this in yourself. It’s a park that captures the wonders of the world."
Article continues belowThe Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
